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One or Two Days Store bananas in a paper bag, says Lori Taylor, a produce expert and the founder of theproducemoms.com. As bananas mature, they emit ethylene, a gaseous hormone that quickens ripening. When you contain them in a bag, they’re exposed to more ethylene, so the process goes quicker. Overnight Ripening Add a piece of fruit, like an apple, avocado, or pear, to the bag. These fruits also emit ethylene and will hasten the process....

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, poor driving habits alone—aggressive speeding, braking, and rapid acceleration—can lower your gas mileage by roughly 15 to 30 percent at highway speeds and 10 to 40 percent in stop-and-go traffic. Here are eight things you can do to save money at the pump, both during times of peak gas prices and everyday. “These habits require patience and budgeting of your time to arrive a little later than normal,” says Montoya....

How to Take Care of Your Candles Ensure Your Candle Burns Evenly When you light a candle for the first time, let it burn for a while. You want to ensure the entire surface of the candle melts before you put it out. If you don’t, your candle could end up with a rim of solid wax that never ends up melting. (This is called tunneling, and you’ve probably seen it happen....

How Does an Air Fryer Work? While it might seem like magic, there’s a simple explanation for how air fryers work. As you know, rather than using hot oil to fry your food, air fryers technically don’t do any frying at all. Instead, the high heat (from a coil close to the food basket), combined with a fan that circulates the air evenly throughout the unit, creates a texture close to what you find in deep-fried foods....

The proliferation of food-justice organizations and free food providers may seem as though it’s one more outcome of the pandemic, but in actuality, food insecurity and the organizations working to support those who face it have been around long before COVID. If they seem more prominent now, it may be because this is one more societal fault line that worsened and, therefore, got more attention as the pandemic unfolded....

Instead of spooning frothy milk on top of the coffee, this whipped fluffy coffee goes on top of the milk. Simply mix together equal part instant coffee, granulated sugar, and water—about 2 tablespoons of each. We recommend whisking your ingredients in a stand mixer or with an electric whisk. The goal is to make the texture light and airy, like you would with whipped cream. Once your coffee begins to form stiff peaks, you’re done....

Beginning in September, new and existing IKEA Family members get 5% off eligible in-store purchases, plus other new benefits, including special pricing on certain online delivery options, 90-day price protection, and more. The beloved Swedish furniture company quietly launched the new IKEA Family discount benefit on September 1, 2022, with a larger announcement covering the new 5% discount and special delivery pricing on September 12. This new IKEA Family discount marks the first time U....

But to continue to shatter the glass ceiling, we’ll all need to work harder to promote equality and empower one another as we rebuild the female workforce over the next several decades. In honor of International Women’s Day, we asked 12 successful female entrepreneurs to share the best ways, large and small, to band together, lift each other up, and pursue your professional dreams. Their sage advice below will inspire you to grab your hammer and start climbing....

1. Mural Wallpaper There’s been a resurgence of wallpaper thanks to fresh new colors, patterns, and easy-install qualities. Thanks to those same concepts, wall murals are an interior forecast trend for 2019. “We have seen our wall art category grow year over year and believe it will only continue to go up given its increasing popularity in the home décor space,” says Andrea Stanford, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Society 6....

I try to stay up to date on personal finance trends and tips, so I’ve seen all the quotes from financial experts about how spending $5 a day on a latte is ruining my chances of retiring or ever owning a home. Does that stop me from craving a foamy latte in the morning? Absolutely not. Friends and family encouraged me to just get over my love of lattes and buy a coffee maker to have at home, but I refused: I knew I wouldn’t use it, so I kept on dropping $15 a weekend at my favorite corner coffee shop....

To buy: $14 (was $24); amazon.com. The serum uses two types of hyaluronic acid to firm, brighten, and visibly soften wrinkles. Other ingredients include vitamin C, glycerin, and castor oil—all of which hydrate your skin and improve elasticity. The lightweight formula quickly absorbs into the skin and doesn’t clog pores, so it’s safe to use on dry, oily, or combination skin types. L’Oréal recommends applying two to three drops to clean skin twice daily for the best results....

Mistake #1: Placing the Curtain Rod in the Wrong Spot Many homeowners install curtain rod brackets into the top of the window molding. But according to designers, if you want to make the room look as tall as possible, install them above and outside the window molding. Rather than let the limits of the window be your guide, installing curtains slightly closer to the ceiling lets you exaggerate the height of the room....

For the sixth and final installment of our “Taxes in Ten” series, we talked with Lorraine (not her real name), who, along with her husband in 2018, cashed out some of their mutual funds to purchase their first home. Then, in 2019, Lorraine and her husband did their taxes as usual, because they hadn’t received any paperwork or notices from the brokerage company with which they cashed out their investments....

“When my ex-husband left, he immediately took half of our savings, put it in a different bank account,” she says. She also lost money when they sold their house at a loss, and feels behind on her retirement savings, as she was relying on his pension covering them both. “So, I just feel like I took, you know, two, three, four steps back, in terms of my financial situation,” Julia says....

While we received complimentary meals at all of these locations, those complimentary meals had no bearing on these recommendations. All opinions are 100% honest and my own! During our recent trip to Napa Valley, we had the chance to try out some of the most amazing Napa Valley restaurants! Eating was definitely one of the best things to do in Napa Valley! These are our favorites from the trip – definitely not to be missed!...

Madewell has nearly 70 items on sale during the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale with deals of up to 46 percent off. You can shop the capsule wardrobe staples from the fan-favorite and editor-loved brand, including jeans, sweaters, tops, dresses, and tons of accessories to carry you from summer to fall. As a frequent Madewell shopper myself, I’ve got my eyes on a new pair of jeans, a chunky knit cardigan, and a tote bag, all at a huge discount....

Luckily, when creating the open living room and kitchen in the 2021 Real Simple Home, we had the help of two professional designers: Delia Kenza focused on the kitchen and Natalie Papier planned the living room. Here are their top tips for making an open layout floor plan work. Keep scale in mind. “If you decide to have an open floor plan, make sure you consider scale,” says Kenza. “You don’t want the kitchen to overpower the rest of the space....

With tips from experts, including self-described financial hype woman Berna Anat and Melissa Ridolfi, senior vice president of retirement and cash management at Fidelity Investments, the hour-long event helps demystify some of the retirement planning process. Tune in after Friday, March 26, at 5 p.m. ET to watch a recording of the full event, and download the helpful handout below with our top tips for retirement planning. Then read on for answers to some of the most commonly asked questions from the event....

The Biossance Squalane + Zinc Sheer Mineral Sunscreen is officially the only sunscreen I’ll ever wear again. The broad spectrum SPF 30 sunblock protects against harmful UV rays, and it helps keep my skin clear and smooth thanks to a wealth of nourishing ingredients. The hydrating sunscreen is packed with sugarcane-derived squalane for extra moisturization, and zinc oxide that keeps the skin’s outer barrier safe from damaging UVA and UVB rays, according to the brand....

The beauty world has recognized the benefits of working apple cider vinegar into hair routines, including shinier hair, itchy scalp relief, and color protection. I saw so many people raving about dpHue’s Apple Cider Vinegar Hair Rinse online, which piqued my interest. I was drawn to the fact that it integrated hydrating and fortifying ingredients like argan oil to add moisture and protection, along with aloe vera, fire tulip, and lavender extract to soothe dry, itchy scalps without stripping essential oils....